Continuance
by Kitcat39
Summary: Though the fairytale ends in a happily ever after, life always ends in death. Demonic lifespans and reincarnation are not a happy mix. Warning: character death.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha**

**Warning: character death**

**AN: Just a little conceptual oneshot. I just finished reading the manga, and I was moved to write this.**

Continuance

Humans die. That is one thing Inuyasha had always been absolutely sure about. In a world where many beings thought of lifespans in terms of millennia and death was often considered nothing more than a hindrance, the one constant was that plain old humans, whether they be the lowliest beggar or the highest lord, would all eventually kick the bucket before a century ran out. Thus, when Kagome died he was prepared for it. Well, as prepared as he could be when the woman who was his literal soul mate passed on to the afterlife for the second time. Honestly, he felt a little surprised at how peaceful it was. They had been curled up in bed together scant days after her eightieth birthday when she had simply stopped breathing. He hadn't even noticed until he'd tried to shake her awake. She was there, and then she wasn't. Simple as that. Well, at least that was what he tried to tell himself. It was hard trying to get over the injustice of her dying of old age while he barely looked out of his teens.

After that he went a bit feral. He wandered the wilderness killing troublesome demons wherever he went, taking payment only in the form of a hot meal and a bed for the night. It was pretty lonely since none of his friends were there to help him. Sango and Miroku had passed away years before, Kouga was busy raising his kids, Shippo had gone to the continent in search of adventure, and no one beyond them was worth considering. It was lonely, but he'd been lonely before, so it wasn't that big of an adjustment.

About twenty years after he began his travels, he was hired by a lord whose household had been plagued by a rather mischievous pair of cat demons. Though all he'd had to do to get rid of them was literally walk through the door, being a powerful dog demon and all, the lord was so thankful that he offered his eldest daughter's hand in marriage in the spot. Before he could refuse, the daughter in question walked into the room and gave Inuyasha a heart attack. The girl looked exactly like Kagome.

It was only after he'd turned down the offer in exchange for dinner with their family that he noticed the differences. The girl, Kosuke was her name, had pale amber eyes and dark brown hair. She spoke quietly, if at all, and had a tendency to break out in nervous giggles. She wore her hair in a complicated bun that was matched only by the elaborateness of her outfit. So yeah, Inuyasha knew she wasn't Kagome, but by the end of the dinner he knew that Kosuke sure as hell was her reincarnation.

After this discovery, Inuyasha stuck around for a little while. He did odd jobs around the manor, became friendly with the staff, and talked to Kosuke every chance he could. She was absolutely fascinated by his stories of the time he had spent hunting the Shikon Jewel shards. It had been nearly a century since it happened, so to her his tales were practically mythical. Inuyasha however was interested in her accounts of her life, though she didn't like telling them. She claimed that her life was too boring compared to his. He responded with the argument that what she saw as boring, he saw as exotic compared to his adventures. This usually sent her into one of her adorable giggle fits.

Eventually, they fell in love and, after a whirlwind courtship, got married. They lived and loved together for many years, not a care in the world. Humans are fragile though, and one particularly cold winter Kosuke fell ill with a fever. She was only thirty-seven, still hearty and healthy, but it didn't take much to fell her, as she was just a human after all. She didn't live to see the spring.

Inuyasha went wandering again after that, heart shattered into more pieces than the Shikon Jewel. He hoped it would be over, that he would never have to go through that again. He should have known better. Fate had never been kind to him. Fifteen years later, at a New Year's festival on the western shore, he spotted Kagome's face in the crowd. That was when he realized that it would never be over.

The names blurred together over the years, connected only by the similarity of their faces. They were everything from servants to farmers to office ladies to druggies. Sometimes he would meet her by happenstance, like when he literally bumped into Kimi on the street. Other times he spent years tracking her down, nearly a decade in Kaoru's case. She could be gentle and kind, like Kasumi, who always gave him free pastries from her bakery despite him never being able to pay for them, or downright mean, like Kura the bitter divorcee. Their time together could be long, like with Kichi who lived to be older than that old hag Kaede, or so short as to be nonexistent. He would never be able to forget finding Keiko only to witness her last breath from outside her hospital room window. He loved her though. He loved all of them, even the two times when she had been reborn as a he. He just couldn't stop.

One day, while strolling aimlessly through Tokyo, a girl stumbled into him. He looked at her face and saw Kagome. He sighed, resigning himself to the never-ending cycle once again, before he looked closer and realized that this time it actually was Kagome. She was young, probably only thirteen, and oh so beautiful despite her stuttered apologies and tomato-like blush of embarrassment. He helped her up and brushed off her excuses with a wave of his hand, walking away with a smile on his face. Though he wasn't entirely sure, he knew deep in his weary bones that it was over, finished, done. He was free of the cycle of life and pain and death forever. It was a bittersweet victory.

He walked into the corner store, intent on getting some instant noodles to celebrate and mourn the occasion, and caught a glimpse of himself in the window. He smiled, cold and bitter. He barely looked out of his twenties.


End file.
